The Thinkings of a Winemaker

Since 1984, we've been making Cadenzas in one form or another.  Back then, we were following the same philosophy as we are now with regard to our reserve wines.  They (as now) are unfiltered and unfined. The unfiltered bit basically means that we let the wines fall clear in the barrels as they age.  We do stir the barrels from time to time, but as the wines get closer and closer to bottling, we stop this process and let all the sediments fall to the bottom of the barrels.  These sediments include everything from tartrates (cream of tartar), yeast, and any other small bits that would cloud the wine.  These wines are not crystal clear when they enter the bottle (but being reds it's hard to tell.)  On top of that, filtration is what I like to call a "double-edged sword."  Yes, it removes unsightliness from the wine, but it also removes a certain je ne sais quoi as well.  Hence, why we don't filter our best wines. As for the sediment ...